About this episode

This episode discusses the relationship between sleep habits and attachment in early parenting, emphasizing the importance of responsiveness over control.

In this Baby Bitesize gold nugget episode, we gently unpack one of the biggest sources of anxiety in early parenting: sleep habits and attachment. If you’ve ever worried that feeding to sleep, rocking, co-sleeping, or lying beside your baby is creating bad habits or damaging secure attachment, this conversation is for you. You’ll hear a powerful mindset shift inspired by attachment expert Eli Harwood: secure attachment is not built on where or how your baby sleeps, but on consistent responsiveness, warmth, and emotional availability. This episode invites you to release the pressure to control your child’s sleep and instead focus on what you can control, your responses, your mindset, and the connection you model. Because you are not the pilot of your child’s plane, you are the mechanic helping make it flight worthy. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why sleep associations are neutral, not good or bad What actually builds secure attachment in early childhood The difference between responsiveness and control A secure attachment mindset shift to reduce sleep anxiety How to know when a sleep habit is still serving your family The three essentials needed to shift sleep patterns in a…

People in this episode

Host: Jen Cuttriss

Topics covered

• sleep habits
• attachment
• parenting anxiety
• mindset shift
• responsive parenting

Keywords

• sleep habits
• attachment
• parenting
• mindset
• sleep anxiety
• responsive parenting
• co-sleeping
• feeding to sleep

More episodes of Thriving Parent-ing

• Baby Bitesize | When One Becomes Two: The Real, Raw Transition · May 4, 2026 · 13 min
• Baby Bitesize | My Baby Always Wakes Crying… What’s Actually in Your Control? · April 20, 2026 · 13 min
• Why Your Baby Still Fights Sleep Even When You’ve Changed Everything · April 13, 2026 · 18 min
• Building Connection Before Correction (Especially When Your Child’s Wiring Is Different) with Leanne Tran · March 30, 2026 · 60 min
• Baby Bitesize | When Your Baby Gets Overwhelmed (What’s Really Happening) · March 23, 2026 · 14 min
• Do I Need to Co-Sleep? Why This Isn’t a Yes or No Question · March 16, 2026 · 12 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Thriving Parent-ing podcast page.